The technique that most Chinese restaurants use to create that juicy, delectable consistency we all know and love is called velveting, and it's not so much a secret as it is a little-known cooking method amongst U.S. home cooks. The beef will be really tender and soft, "velvet' like. Bill is the dad of The Woks of Life family. Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks! Whether you prefer them crispy, sticky, grilled or baked, take stock of these expert tips. Velveting Is the Chinese Technique That Takes Stir-Fries to - Yahoo! Refrigerate for 30 - 60 minutes. Exercise care when adding or removing ingredients to and from the hot liquid. Make sure to browse around and pick a favorite dish or two. This skips the rinsing step, and will also do a fine job tenderizing! Next, you have to wash the meat. It also happens to be the most recommended cut of beef we use in our stir-fry recipes. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Leave to brown for 3-4 minutes, then put the meat back, adding the rest of the chicken broth. Thanks Nagi. To marinate chicken for stir fries, we use a simple mixture of water, oil, cornstarch, and a flavor agent like soy sauce or oyster sauce. In a cold wok, add chopped garlic and a small amount of oil. 2. That is the nature of peasant food making the most of whats available. Tenderizing your beef is the first step of the traditional process of velveting beef practices by Chinese chefs. Drain. You can have it all done from start to finish in about 40 minutes. Beef can be marinated or seasoned before cooking, stir fried or deep fried, and it will be soft and tender, "velvet" like. As an example for how to marinate beef, check out our post on How to Prepare Beef for Stir-fry. Add the water and soy sauce (or oyster sauce) to the chicken in a medium bowl, and mix until the chicken is well-coated. To sear, place your wok over high heat. Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li, Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova. The first step is to add a good amount of baking soda to the beefabout 1 rounded teaspoon per pound (450g). When it starts to smoke lightly, add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil to coat the surface of the wok. Add one tablespoon each of cornstarch, light soy sauce, one tablespoon each of vegetable or light sesame oil, mixed egg whites, and a dash each of sugar and salt to one pound of . So the beef flavour will only be as good as the cut you use. Beef is best kept in the fridge within 3 to 5 days maximum, according to the USDA. Velveting is a critical Chinese cooking technique. 1 tablespoon cornflour or fine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water Step 1 - Slice the beef against the grain - this helps the velveting process as it gets into the fibres better. Here are tips to pulling off your own well-balanced, ever-changing assortment. However, I wouldnt advise that you use chopped beef for this preparation. Thank you so much for sharing. Add baking soda and water to the sliced beef and massage with hands until most of the liquid is absorbed. Others familiar with Chinese cooking styles use only egg white, corn starch, and Chinese (HaoSing) wine for the non-soda velveting method. If using shrimp or scallop, make sure to shake out the water before combining it with any egg white-cornstarch mixture. Besides tenderizing the meat, velveting also helps form a coating that promotes even browning and helps the sauce to adhere to the meat. Velveting flank beef can yield stir-fry results that make the beef tender and supple. If youre unsure for your cut of beef, go for 35 minutes. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Cut the meat. 5 stars for sure! Just like in stir fries made by your favourite Chinese restaurant! Velveting is a Chinese cooking technique commonly used in stir-frying. It also yields a purer flavor and softer texture, says Leung. It could be a tenderloin cut or any cheap cut. Rectangular slices of beef are used for stir-fries with vegetables like beef and broccoli or beef and tofu. awsomely easy and got raves from the family! However, chemical compounds like baking soda can leave some taste in the meat. Note: Its thrice fried pork so you really have to drain the excess oil very well to not end up with an oily mess. This layer of cornstarch forms a barrier against the heat that the pan introducesbut also prevents the moisture from inside of the meat from escaping. After the water is massaged into the chicken, it should be absorbed within 10 minutes with no visible standing liquid. I learned the answer the first time I worked in a Chinese restaurant kitchen as a prep guy. Try and get that soda powder all over the thinly-sliced beef by rubbing it in. With its intense beefy flavor, all you need to do is make sure you slice and marinate it properly to make a great stir-fry. Kaitlin Leung of The Woks of Life, a blog dedicated to Chinese cooking, shares that a standard velveting mixture could include egg white and cornstarch, plus a few tablespoons of water to help coat the meat yes, but also to make the meat extra tender and juicy. Partially frozen meat also allows you to be more precise in cutting to your desired thickness. Other tenderising methods include marinating in a cornflour/cornstarch sludge then frying in oil before using in the stir fry, chemical tenderisers and egg white marinates. do you completely rinse off the marinade from your meat before continuing with cooking? Here youll find hundreds of delicious Filipino and Asian recipes. Add the chicken in one layer, and allow to sear for 20 seconds. If you would rather blanch your chicken, add the chicken to a wok filled with boiling water. Join our newsletter to get new recipe updates, a free copy of our The Best Filipino Dinners Cookbook, exclusive meal plans, and more. The most important ingredient of any velveting marinade is cornstarcheverything else is left to interpretation. Whisk together until smooth and frothy. I love this cooking technique! I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if youre short on time and cost conscious. Specializes in all things traditional Cantonese and American Chinese takeout. Let stand 1-2 hours. My stir fry turned out awesome because of this tip. Andrea Buck. after marinating, do you completely rinse off the marinade before continuing on with cooking? Build your own stir fry using my All Purpose Chinese Stir Fry Sauce or Peanut Sauce for stir fries! Mix the meat with the potato starch, the previously beaten egg, 2 tablespoons of chicken broth, sugar, salt, and pepper. I usually use a beef and oyster sauce stir fry recipe. Slice beef thinly against the grain. Your email address will not be published. Read Also: Can Cats Eat Corn Husks By now, you should be asking about the science behind it. The blanching, or flash-frying, is another step that enforces the barrier; the outside of the meat cooks so quickly that it seals the juiciness of the chicken. For centuries in China, cattle were used exclusively for agricultural purposes. How To Velvet Beef? - De Kooktips - Homepage - Beginpagina After marinating, the chicken is tossed into a wok and flash-fried with oil over high heat. Next, you need to coat the meat in baking soda and freeze it. Spoiler not everything can be stored on your bar cart! Mix everything well, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to one hour to allow time for the cornstarch to transform into a thin gelatinous layer. This post may contain affiliate links. That said, if your chicken is a bit more fibrous than usual, take care to cut across the grain, similar to. Required fields are marked *. Most cuts of steak benefit from being salted up to an hour in advance of cooking, Marinating. I like them sliced. First, slice your chicken into 1 to 2 inch pieces, about inch thick. While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. Tenderizing: Velveting Beef - YouTube If you blanch meat in water, Young suggests having a colander ready in the sink, drain the pieces in the colander, and thoroughly shaking out any water before stir frying. Usually, add cornstarch and beaten egg and whisk with baking soda powder to tenderize the beef. Its a quick and easy method that any home cook can do, any night of the week. He grew up in upstate New York, working through high school and college in restaurants with his father, a chef. Velveting is the foundation of Chinese cooking, says Tim Ma, chef and founder of Lucky Danger, an American Chinese takeout spot with locations in Arlington, VA, and Washington, D.C. It doesnt only tenderize tough, chewy parts of proteins, but it also creates a surface area to absorb thick sauces.. We'll show you how select, cut, and marinate beef for your wok! Velvet the beef: Place steak in a large ziploc bag. Its all thanks to velveting, a technique that gives Chinese dishes their signature texture. Add chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. TheWoksofLife.com is written and produced for informational purposes only. Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and Salting. This creates too much marinade for a portion for two but it seems a waste to crack an egg for just half an egg white, and unless Im making egg fried rice I dont know what to do with it and it goes in the bin. It allows the velveting sauce youre applying to seep in well. Mix and work it into the meat before marinating. Tenderising affects thetexture not the flavour of the beef. Begin by mixing soy sauce, cornstarch or potato starch, and oil with meat. But it certainly made it taste legit! 1 Dissolve baking soda in water (for every 12 ounces of meat, use 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 12 cup of water). Its also more of a timing issue, says Lau. Korean cuisine is known for its impressive spreads of banchan a.k.a. Add meat and cook, stirring as needed, for about 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. We provided measurements for velveting 12 ounces (340g) of chicken, which is typical for one stir-fry dish. Why the Meat in Chinese Stir-Fries Is So Wonderfully Tender, How to Store Liquor, Spirits and More, According to a Spirits Expert, How to Cook a Bunch of Little Dishes for a Crowd, What Home Bakers Should Know Before Putting Fresh Flowers on Cake, How to Use a Masala Dabba, According to the CEO of a Spice Company, How to Make Taiyaki at Home, According to Two Japanese Dessert Experts, 5 Homemade Noodle Making Tips from Jason Wang of Xian Famous Foods, How to Cook Perfect Chicken Wings, No Matter How You Like Them, 6 Best Food Dehydrators, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, 5 Best Cookie Sheets and Sheet Pans, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, 6 Best Air Fryer Toaster Ovens, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, 6 Best Bourbons, According to a Spirits Expert, 10 Must-Have Kitchen Tools That are Less Than$10, 4 Best Non-Alcoholic Whiskeys, According to a Spirits Expert, 5 Best Potato Mashers, Tested By Food Network Kitchen, 5 Best Roasting Pans, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, 2 Million Cosori Air Fryers Recalled Due to Fire Risk, 5 Best Dishwashing Gloves, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, 5 Best Tequilas, According to a Spirits Expert, 4 Best Bread Machines, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, 6 Best Gins, According to a Spirits Expert, 7 Best Travel Mugs, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, 6 Best Vodkas, According to a Spirits Expert, 5 Best Stainless Steel Skillets, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, The Best Presidents Day Sales to Shop This Week, 4 Best Bread Knives, Tested by Food Network Kitchen, Caraway Just Dropped A Copper Cookware Collection, Drew Barrymore Just Launched Four New Kitchen Gadgets, This Bottle Brush Cuts Down Your Time Washing Dishes, These Are the Best Keurig Coffee Pods You Can Buy Now, 5 Best French Presses, Tested by Food Network Kitchen. This step tenderizes (baking soda) and hydrates (water) the beef. Whisk together until smooth and frothy. Growing up in a Chinese Filipino household meant that the meat I consumed went velveted without me even knowing. Meat or seafood is marinated and pre-cooked in oil (or sometimes poached in boiling water). Hi Nagi and Dozer, The plain tenderised beef isnt flavoured, so it can be used forany recipe calling for strips of beef that are cooked quickly, such as Beef Stroganoff. Velveting Chicken: The Chinese restaurant secret to tenderising chicken The secret is tenderising the meat. Jump-start your career with our Premium A-to-Z Microsoft Excel Training Bundle from the new Gadget Hacks Shop and get lifetime access to more than 40 hours of Basic to Advanced instruction on functions, formula, tools, and more. Recipes Beef 272 Show detail Preview View more Finally, sauce is added to bring the whole dish together. Beef fried rice requires small chunks of meat to go with the small grains of rice. Randys dad still applies the water-blanching method when cooking soups. Tenderising beef enables you to make fast-cook beef recipes using economical cuts of beef that usually require slow cooking to break down the tough fibres, like in Stews. Worked BEAUTIFULLY If too much egg white is used, the mixture wont be absorbed and seal the meats juices well. Flank steak is by far the most popular cut of meat used by Chinese restaurants in all of their stir-fry dishes. how to velvet beef | Sheri Silver - living a well-tended life at any age So whether chopped or sliced, you can freeze it for up to 4 months. Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @kawalingpinoy on Facebook and Instagram! Lastly, adding the chicken a few minutes before the dish is complete allows the meat to heat up to the same temperature as the rest of the meal without prolonged exposure to more heat (which will create a loss of moisture and a tougher texture). Making these charming, fish-shaped pastries is totally doable with these tips. ~ Step 3. In most cases you want to preserve their fresh taste and natural texture, says Leung. There are several approaches, but this one is the simplest: 1Sprinkle 250g / 8 oz sliced economical beef cuts with 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate soda). Once they are firm, they are very easy to slice into uniform, perfect slices. This works mainly because of the egg whites, which are naturally alkaline. Stir-fry until the chicken has turned opaque, and remove from the wok. Add cornstarch and oil to give the meat a velvety texture. The baking soda is too strong and will over tenderise the outside before the inside is tenderised. All rights reserved. Its a way of taking a cheap cut and making it seem more expensive. Velveting in Water In a pot over high heat, combine about 2-inch deep of water and 1 tablespoon of oil. Thank you Nagi for sharing these wonderful tips with us all. For velveting, desired-sized chunks of meat are coated and marinated for 30 to 45 minutes in a mixture of cornstarch, rice wine, egg whites, salt, sugar, and soy sauce. Whisk in the egg white till well combined but not frothy. Then, the cook adds it to a stir-fry with other ingredients. Also used for chicken, its a simple, highlyeffective technique using baking soda that transforms economical beef so its incredibly tender in stir friesand stir fried noodles. People go for either egg white or baking soda as they are both alkaline ingredients. Bon Apptit may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. I am certainly going to try this on my next round of spareribs! This makes slicing much easier and faster, as the firm beef does not slide under your knife and around the cutting board. We always give important details in all of our recipes, including preparation and cooking, but I thought it was time to write a post focused on preparing beef properly for the wok! Or, you could just put it in a freezer bag. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. My name is Lalaine and welcome to Kawaling Pinoy. How to Use Baking Soda to Tenderize Meat by America's test kitchen However, its up to you. How to Velvet Chicken for Stir-fry - The Woks of Life CatHead's BBQ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon (.com, .co.uk, .ca etc) and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. If done well, youll achieve that flank steak beef texture found in Chinese restaurants. 1 tablespoon cornstarch (use 1 1/2 tablespoons when velveting shrimp) 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon peanut oil (use 1 1/2 tablespoons when velveting shrimp) ~ Step 2. In a pot over medium heat, heat about 3-inch deep of oil (meat should be fully submerged in oil). Love this idea,wish could print it.Can not find printer icon to click on. Serve immediately. This technique is known as velveting, because meats marinated with cornstarch have a velvety smooth texture on the outside and retain moisture on the inside. Mix everything well, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to one hour to allow time for the cornstarch to transform into a thin gelatinous layer. For example, if you want a hot fried beef sandwich, it would taste great since its already seasoned with garlic and English mustard. Add sliced chicken; mix to coat thoroughly. How do you make velvet beef with baking soda? The meat ends up juicy and flavorful, a result you dont get with a standard blanching process.. In a colander, drain chicken. Tap here to receive our FREE top 25 recipe book! The chicken breast in this photo was partially frozen for easy slicing. The fibres are softened so you get less meaty texture, which is why I only use this technique to tenderise strips of meat and not cubes or steaks which would be a bit too eerie! To give your velveted meat an even thicker coating of sauce, add an egg white to the slurry. MARINATE: Add the thinly sliced beef, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon water, cornstarch, baking soda, white pepper, and garlic powder to a bowl and stir to combine.Set aside for at least 15 minutes and ideally, 1-2 hours works best to tenderize the meat. Heres how to do it at home. Have you ever tried to make a stir-fry at home, but the meat comes out dry and not at all like what youve been served in Asian restaurants? Again, the grain refers to the long strands of muscle running through the beef parallel to each other. Its easy to identify the long grains of muscle fiber in flank steak. I like to add sliced onions or garlic as well, which gives the alliums additional time to soak up the oil and salt. Here are a few recipes that can serve as a starting point for your culinary velveting adventures: Velveting is an easy yet essential technique for Asian stir-fry. Bring water back to a gentle simmer and once it's barely bubbling, continue to cook chicken for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Cut along the fat lines and remove the thick membrane to get some neat chunks of beef for slicing. kokopuffs Also, just baking soda or bicarbonate soda is used. Subscribe to our email list and be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube! Chinese velveting techniques vary, depending upon the cut and type of meat used for the dish, and also involve tenderizing, marinating, and different cooking methods. Velveting is a process used in traditional Chinese cooking to prepare meats for stir-frying. With a wok purloined from my parents kitchen and a fair amount of internet research from early-aughts food blogs like Appetite for China, I taught myself the art of the stir-fry, from kitchen sink-style fried rice to shrimp-flavored chayote squash finished off with a last-minute steam. We individually stir-fry the ingredients because our home stoves generally arent as powerful as those in restaurants. We recommend searing the chicken in a hot wok, as opposed to deep-frying. Whether you go with the simplest approach, or more advanced restaurant-grade methods, velveting makes a huge difference, and is an essential step to making any stir-fry dish top notch. Time and again, my worldwide web pursuits for solid recipes that I know my family will eat has landed me back here.. Proceed with recipe of choice. More often than not, its thanks to one simple pantry staple: cornstarch. Place the dried meat in a bowl and pour the velveting mixture on top. You could jazz up this marinade with minced garlic, spiced salts and sugar. Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates. When the sauce starts bubbling, add broccoli. I use one egg white, big sprinkle of salt, 3 teaspoons of cornflour, tablespoon of soy sauce, and a tablespoon of wine (have used both red and white wine, dont have rice wine). Velveting Beef For Stir Fry - TheSuperHealthyFood Although ideas about preparing and consuming beef have evolved, these marinated preparations remain in todays Chinese culinary methods. Then, remove from the wok. Stir for another 30 seconds or until beef is no longer pink. So, their meat was only consumed when the animal was too old to do its job. Much like browning in French cuisine, velveting locks in the original flavour and texture of the protein before it is finished in the next cooking step. You may follow steps 5-8 of the previous recipe to stir-fry your velveted beef. Velveting is the secret! Thanks Nagi I hav just tried this for the very first and made some Chinese stir-fry, and it was delicious, it made the chicken taste so lovely and made the chicken so soft. The equivalent Chinese phrase, zu yu () in Mandarin or jau yau in Cantonese, means passing through oil. It essentially refers to deep-frying. After the chicken is cooked for a minute or two, it is removed from the wok and left to cool while the rest of the ingredients (such as the vegetables and/or sauce) are cooked. Isnt it amazing how velvety and soft the chicken turns out? For tender seafood like squid or scallops, velveting is typically unnecessary. Often times, we dont oil- or water-blanch proteins and the meat texture is still tender though not restaurant-quality level, Lau says. So it makes it incredibly soft even if you stir-fry it at very high heat. For those of you who want to reduce fat in your diet or simply want that delicate taste of Cantonese cooking, you can blanch your chicken in boiling water. The marinade acts as protective coat which seals moisture and keeps the meat from overcooking, resulting in meat morsels that are silky soft and lusciously tender. Keeping the knife at about a 45 angle also makes the slices larger/wider. Tag me on Instagram at. Your cheerful local Chinese restaurant is using economical stewing beef to make stir fries with ultra tender strips of beef by tenderising it! Simply coat strips of chicken, turkey, pork, beef, (or scallops, prawns etc) in a mixture of egg white, cornflour, sesame oil and salt before deep-frying in hot oil or poaching in simmering water. This is a game changer! Hello Lalaine, Heres the general rule of thumb Ive come up with based on all the beef Ive tried: Chuck beef, gravy beef, oyster beef and other traditional stewing beef 30 minutes, Economical steak cuts (eg. Note that if youre using baking soda or any other food chemicals, you will need to wash them off after the velveting period before you begin stir-frying or preparing with whatever recipe you have in mind. Add about 2 teaspoons of each per pound of beef. And to do this, you can start by placing the beef in a mixture of cornstarch, egg whites, and seasoning. Various online calculators also provide different results, depending on their sources. Tender, juicy meat! The meat is then lightly cooked on the outside before cooking it all the way through. If the process used by Chinese restaurants to tenderize beef described above sounds a bit like a hassle, you can still tenderize beef using a shortcut. Stir beef for 10 seconds, then add garlic and ginger. Cornstarch is the foundation of Chinese cooking and this magical pantry ingredient is commonly used to thicken soups, stews and sauces. 2 teaspoons cornstarch 2 teaspoons vegetable oil Instructions First, slice your chicken into 1 to 2 inch pieces, about inch thick. Do you sometimes feel challenged when slicing chicken thinly to make a stir-fry? A chefs secret to slicing beef quickly is to freeze the meat partially for 30 to 60 minutes until firm. Some recipes, including soups, will only require cooking the beef in water as the final step. To velvet beef using the dry method, simply combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or baking soda with 1 teaspoon of rice wine and 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce in a bowl. The equivalent Chinese phrase. Place in a bowl. Velveting meat is used for making tender beef in Chinese stir-fry recipes. Why is it that no matter what you order from an American Chinese restaurant, from egg drop soup to fiery kung pao chicken, the texture is out of this world? You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. Were Sarah, Kaitlin, Judy, and Bill a family of four cooks sharing our home-cooked and restaurant-style recipes. Then, finely cut it into a more manageable size. The method is called velveting and the ingredient is cornstarch. In Chinese stir-fry cooking, the way ingredients are cut should be consistent with each other. Were Sarah, Kaitlin, Judy, and Bill a family of four cooks sharing our home-cooked and restaurant-style recipes. So easy. Shaoxing wine or 1 Tbsp. The other name for it is "velveting beef". Here are a few recipes I use this method: Did you make this? Cook the meat according . In a colander, drain chicken. Alkaline egg whites tenderize beef for stir fry dishes. How To Make Chinese Restaurant Style Beef and Chicken! - Not Quite Nigella A Guide to the Velveting Technique - Kikkoman UK Drizzle 2-3 tbsp of oil and stir fry the beef minced until no longer pink. The most common velveting ingredients include egg white, sesame oil or sunflower oil, cornflour, and salt. The thin gelatinous coating seals in the beef juices which keeps it moist and gives it a slippery mouth feel, hence the name velveting! fwiw- (some styles of velveting make use of altering the PH of the protein to actually tenderize, they use techniques that raise the ph (reduce acidity) - usually egg whites, cornstarch, water and baking soda) take note that different proteins react differently. Some do it religiously, but we usually prefer to keep its natural texture and simply season it when needed. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. Beef - Velveting beef with baking soda or cornstarch recipes Use a good chefs knife, and as always, be careful when working with sharp knives! Rinse and dry the coriander. Clingy, glossy sauce! Save the egg yolk for breakfast tomorrow morning. If you cut with the fibers, the beef will be tough because the long fibers havent separated. Simply boil enough water to cover the amount of meat you are velveting, then add the meat and cook until it becomes opaque. What to Serve with Beef Tenderloin (23 Ultimate Choices). After its been tenderised, go ahead and marinate it in whatever you want wet sauce or dry seasonings. The chicken is then added to the wok at the end for a short saut with the prepared sauce before being served.